Cal State students facing 10% tuition increase

Students attending California State University are facing a 10 percent tuition increase next year under a proposal previewed Tuesday by CSU Chancellor Charles Reed.

Reed has asked the CSU Board of Trustees to approve the increase amid a statewide “economic meltdown” and budget shortfalls that face the 23-campus system that stretches from San Diego State University to Humbolt State in northern California.

The increase would add $306 a year to tuition for undergraduate students and pump up the system's budget by an estimated $127 million. The board is expected to act on Reed's request at its meeting next week in Long Beach.

University administrators say the boost in fees is critical to maintaining the quality of education while critics say it will impose an undue burden on students.

During a news conference Tuesday, Reed said it is a recommendation that he did not make lightly but one of absolute necessity.

“Raising fees is a difficult choice but we have to make that choice to serve the 460,000 students and maintain as much of the quality as we can,” he said. The increase, which was included as part of the 2009-10 budget adopted by the Legislature earlier this year, would raise fees for undergraduates to $3,354 per year, while students seeking teaching credentials would pay $3,894 per year. Graduate student fees would rise to $4,134.

Reed said CSU undergraduate and graduate fees continue to be among the lowest of all universities across the nation and suggested raising $153 a semester would not create a hardship for students.

“When you graduate with a bachelor's degree the compensation you earn over a lifetime is $1 million more than somebody with a high school diploma,” he said. “It is one great investment on an individual's part.”

Reed said one-third of the revenue or $42 million generated from the increase would be set aside for financial aid. The remaining revenue will be used to offset reductions in state general fund support to the CSU.

Scott Burns, associate vice president for financial operations at SDSU, called the increase, which will generate about $6 million for the university, vital to maintain educational excellence on the 102-year-old campus.

SDSU, which is the third-largest university in the state system with an enrollment of 35,832, struggled this year with a $12 million cut in its $341 million budget and, like all universities in the system, is looking at restricting enrollment by as much as 10 percent next year.

“Given the decline in state support (and) in order to continue delivering quality instruction we need we need this source of revenue,” he said.

This would be the third fee increase in the last three years for CSU students. The board increased undergraduate fees $252 in 2008 and $276 in 2009.

It also comes at a time when students in the University of California system are facing a 9.3 percent fee increase, which amounts to $662 a year for undergraduate students and $750 for graduate students.

Lillian Taiz, president of the 24,000-member California Faculty Association, said Reed and other CSU officials should have fought harder in Sacramento instead of putting the burden on students.

“The message it sends is horrendous,” she said.

“It may not look to the chancellor – who makes $400,000 a year – like very much,” she said. “But to those families suffering from the economic crisis it sends the message that higher education may not be for them.”

At SDSU, Allan Acevedo, 20, a sophomore majoring in political science, said the fee increase will force him to work more hours to cover the increase and put added pressure on him to maintain his grades.

“The more hours I have to work the harder it is for me to find the time to study,” he said.

Acevedo said he will have to hustle three part-time jobs on campus next semester to cover education costs. He also said the increase may put CSU out of reach for some.

“I understand nothing is free but the very promise the state of California made that every qualified student would have a chance to go to college isn't being fulfilled,” he said.

Josephine Salvatin, 23, Associated Students executive vice president, said the trustees, CSU officials and campus administrators must tie any fee increase to assurances of fiscal responsibility.

“I hope they really analyze the fee and see that this $300 will go to improving the quality of education and not just to cover a lack of financial planning,” she said.

Salvatin, a senior majoring in aerospace engineering, acknowledged additional fees will cause a burden for some students but said the overall benefit will outweigh any hardships.

“You don't want to burden the students,” she said. “But you also don't want to compromise the quality of education.”